Tax cuts are the balm that cures any ailing economy, according to Conservative dogma. They are wrong, as ideologues usually are.

Without question, judicious tax cuts help crank up the economy. But excessive tax cuts flood the economy with too much money chasing too few good business opportunities. The inevitable bubble forms and bursts. As government expenditures rise inexorably, and the government borrows. The next generation is asked to pick up the tab.

“A rising tide lifts all ships,” said President Kennedy, describing the tax cut his administration enacted, which were credited with bringing about the Go-Go economy of the 60s. More...